Jarrah Al Silawi aims to prove he is 'one of best Middle East fighters' in return to PFL

Jarrah Al Silawi is out to prove to himself as “one of the best” fighters in the Middle East when he returns to the Professional Fighters League for its second Mena edition at the Green Halls in Riyadh on July 12.

The Jordanian welterweight champion was to face Bashar Thaer in the main contest but the Iraqi withdrew due to injury, leaving the promotion to draft in Egyptian Ahmed Sami in his place.

The main event has also been changed with Mostafa Rashed Neda (8-3-0) facing Abdel Driai (9-2-0) in the middleweight division.

Al Silawi, 32, has more than 10 years' experience as a professional mixed martial arts fighter and comes into the contest with a 19-6 win-loss record to face Sami (11-4), who shows up on the back of a defeat to Yousri Belgaroui by unanimous decision in the Levels Fight League 11 in February.

“Nothing much of my preparations in the camp is going to change with the change of the opponent,” Al Silawi told The National.

“It’s a pretty rough sport and it’s not unusual that an opponent gets replaced because of injury or for any other reason. I have been in a few main fights and in this situation before and I’m ready for it.”

Al Silawi made a successful debut in PFL 3 regular season with a first-round stoppage of American Michael Lilly back in February 2022. He won a split decision over Brazilian Gleison Tibau just over two months later before suffering three successive defeats in the promotion.

Al Silawi bounced back with victory over Serbian Nenad Avramovic by unanimous decision in the Brave CF 80 last December and is confident of a victory over Sami that may move him back to the PFL regular season.

“I want to prove that I am one of the best fighters in the Middle East and I hope I will be able to return to